The effect of gender role stereotype exposure on body image, self-esteem, and gender-typical responding

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to assess whether exposure to gender roles portrayed in the mainstream media affects self-esteem and body image in college students. The experiment was a 2 (biological sex: male or female) x 3 (film clip portraying: stereotypical gender roles, a challenge to stereotypical gender roles, or a mixture of stereotypical and stereotype-challenging gender roles) between-subjects design. Self-esteem was positively correlated to body image when taking the whole body into account as well as individual parts. Participants with stronger senses of gender identity reported more masculinity, which was defined as being independent, active, and competitive, F(1, 142) = 13.43, p < .01, partial η2 = .09. Male participants who identified as more masculine, as well as female participants who identified as more feminine, both had high scores on these traditionally masculine traits. Female participants also reported more femininity than males reported.